Campfire Rules and Burn Bans by State, With Live Fire Weather

Q: Are campfires allowed at state parks?

Almost always in the provided fire rings, with limits on firewood and wood moved from elsewhere. This page quoted the state park campfire rule for 39 states; each state page has it word for word.

Q: What is a red flag warning?

A National Weather Service product issued when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds combine to make fire spread fast. It is not a burn ban, but agencies often tighten fire rules when one is out.

Q: How do I find out whether a burn ban is on?

The state forestry or fire agency usually posts it; a county or a national forest can order its own. This page names the state source for 39 states.

Q: Do I need a campfire permit?

Sometimes. 8 states have a permit rule this page could quote. Rules differ between a developed campground, dispersed camping and a backcountry site.

The rules

Campfire permits and burn ban sources by state

8 states

With a campfire permit rule quoted

of the 50

39 states

With the state park rule quoted

Word for word on each page

39 states

With a named burn ban source

Linked on each page

Campfire rules by state
State	Campfire permit	Burn bans posted by
Alabama	see the state page	see the state page
Alaska	see the state page	see the state page
Arizona	see the state page	Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management
Arkansas	see the state page	Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Forestry Division
California	see the state page	California State Parks
Colorado	see the state page	Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control
Connecticut	No permit	CT DEEP
Delaware	see the state page	Delaware State Fire Marshal / DNREC
Florida	see the state page	USDA Forest Service, National Forests in Florida
Georgia	see the state page	Georgia Forestry Commission
Hawaii	see the state page	see the state page
Idaho	see the state page	Idaho Department of Lands
Illinois	see the state page	USDA Forest Service, Shawnee National Forest
Indiana	see the state page	Indiana Department of Homeland Security
Iowa	see the state page	see the state page
Kansas	see the state page	see the state page
Kentucky	see the state page	Kentucky Division of Forestry
Louisiana	see the state page	Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
Maine	see the state page	see the state page
Maryland	No permit	Maryland DNR Forest Service
Massachusetts	see the state page	see the state page
Michigan	see the state page	Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota	Permit in some places	Minnesota DNR Forestry
Mississippi	see the state page	Mississippi Forestry Commission
Missouri	No permit	Missouri Department of Conservation (burn bans are local)
Montana	see the state page	Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
Nebraska	Permit in some places	USDA Forest Service, Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands
Nevada	see the state page	Nevada Division of Forestry
New Hampshire	see the state page	see the state page
New Jersey	see the state page	New Jersey Forest Fire Service
New Mexico	see the state page	New Mexico State Parks Division
New York	see the state page	NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
North Carolina	see the state page	see the state page
North Dakota	see the state page	North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (ND Response)
Ohio	see the state page	see the state page
Oklahoma	see the state page	Oklahoma Forestry Services
Oregon	see the state page	Oregon Department of Forestry
Pennsylvania	see the state page	Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau of Forestry
Rhode Island	see the state page	Rhode Island DEM
South Carolina	No permit	South Carolina Forestry Commission
South Dakota	see the state page	South Dakota Department of Agriculture, Division of Wildland Fire
Tennessee	see the state page	Tennessee Division of Forestry
Texas	see the state page	Texas A&M Forest Service
Utah	see the state page	Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (utahfireinfo.gov)
Vermont	see the state page	Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation
Virginia	see the state page	Virginia Department of Forestry
Washington	see the state page	Washington Department of Natural Resources
West Virginia	Permit in some places	West Virginia Division of Forestry
Wisconsin	No permit	Wisconsin DNR Forest Fire Protection
Wyoming	see the state page	see the state page

A county, a national forest or a single park can order a stricter ban than the state. Open a state for the quoted rule and the live alerts.

Reading the weather

What a red flag warning means for a campfire

The National Weather Service issues a red flag warning when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds make a fire spread fast. It is a weather product, not a burn ban, but many agencies tighten or end campfires while one is out. Each state page shows the alerts active for that state when it loads.

Planning the trip itself? See camping by state for the months that work and how sites are booked.

More for the trip

Fire, bears, ticks and the air

Fire dangerToday’s fire danger and what it means for a campfire Burn permitsWhen a permit is needed to burn Firewood permitsCutting and moving firewood Park openingsWhen parks and campgrounds open for the season Bear seasonBears at camp and how to store food Tick forecastTick activity for the trail and the campsite Mosquito forecastMosquito activity near water DroughtDry conditions that tighten fire rules Air qualityWildfire smoke and the air you will breathe

Campfire questions

Are campfires allowed at state parks?

What is a red flag warning?

How do I find out whether a burn ban is on?

Do I need a campfire permit?

Where this page’s facts come from

State park, forestry and federal land pages (read October 18, 2026). Booking windows, reservation systems, campfire rules, fire restriction sources and rules for camping outside a campground, each quoted word for word with a link to the page it came from.
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991 to 2020 (read October 18, 2026). Average monthly high, low and nights at or below 32 F at 150 reference stations, the same stations the heat season and heating season pages use.
National Weather Service alerts (live, read in your browser when the page loads). Red Flag Warnings, Fire Weather Watches, Fire Warnings, Freeze Warnings and High Wind Warnings, read live from api.weather.gov.
National Weather Service 7 day forecast (live, read in your browser when the page loads). The weekend forecast for the ZIP code a visitor enters, read live from api.weather.gov.